BARC Field Station

The Barbuda Archaeological Research Center (BARC) recognizes the need for increased collaboration between research disciplines and between researchers and local communities. Since 2005, CUNY students and researchers have been engaged in science, education, and community outreach on the island of Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. NSF-funded projects led by Dr. Sophia Perdikaris (Brooklyn College and Graduate Center CUNY) with Paleoenvironmental coordination by Dr. Allison Bain (Université Laval), and hosted by Dr. Reg Murphy of the Antigua and Barbuda Parks Department, with cooperation from the Barbuda School System, and the Barbuda Council have proved exceptionally productive in archaeology, paleoecology, marine biology, ethnography, climate history, and international trans-disciplinary investigation of long-term island ecodynamics. A very successful international field school has been held during the January intersession since 2006, with research projects continuing into the summers. NSF support to Dr. Perdikaris’ Islands of Change project has allowed direct contact between students and teachers in New York, Barbuda, Iceland, and Orkney, with innovative use of digital place based learning tools and school to school contacts that have brought Barbudans to NYC and Iceland, and Icelandic teachers to Barbuda and Orkney.

Statement of Need

The Barbuda Archaeological Research Center (BARC) recognizes that the study of human-ecodynamics is inherently interdisciplinary. No one discipline can explain human-environmental interactions or offer holistic solutions to build community resilience or long-term sustainability. At the same time, issues of environmental sustainability are not abstract academic concepts divorced from local experience. As climate change, environmental degradation, population growth and other factors threaten the sustainability and resilience of communities world-wide, the need for accessible human-ecodynamics research has never been greater. Yet too often scientific research is conducted in silos where each researcher sees only one piece of a larger puzzle and too often excavations are conducted, interviews recorded, specimens collected and artifacts taken to faraway laboratories without the outcomes of such research being made available and accessible to local communities. There is a clear and pressing need for greater collaboration between research disciplines and between researchers and the communities in which they work.

Mission Statement

Recognizing the growing international interest in interdisciplinary research on Barbuda, in January 2011 the Barbuda Council in collaboration with the City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn College, the Global Human Ecodynamics Alliance (GHEA), the Human Ecodynamics Research Center (HERC), and the CUNY Graduate Center founded the Barbuda Archaeological Research Center (BARC). BARC is intended to serve the dual purpose of establishing a multidisciplinary research station on Barbuda and ensuring community relevance and ownership of all research conducted on Barbuda.

The Barbuda Archaeological Research Center is Committed to:

Collaborative partnerships with Barbudan colleagues

Coordinated interdisciplinary research

Community engagement and participation in research

Educational outreach

Local curation and display of finds from Barbuda

The Barbuda Archaeological Research Center Provides:

Multidisciplinary research facilities at the three-structure, five-acre field station

Annual renewal of the Barbuda Research Permit administered by the Barbuda Council

All research is made available and accessible to the Barbudan community

Prior outreach initiatives have included poster presentations, museum displays, work with Barbudan schools, Archaeology Day, and involvement of community members in research

All coursework offered at the research station is freely available to qualified members of the Barbudan community

The Barbuda Archaeological Research Center welcomes additional collaborators who share our commitment to equal partnership with Barbudan colleagues, coordinated interdisciplinary research, community engagement, educational outreach, and curation of Barbudan historical, cultural and ecological finds on Barbuda. BARC recognizes that time and funds used for logistical purposes are time and funds not used for research. In support of research on Barbuda, use of the station is available for a nominal fee that covers maintenance, upkeep and utilities. BARC welcomes individual researchers or research teams but is purpose-built for field schools. As BARC develops, we hope to expand the campus of our field station to include new structures, new disciplines, and new university partners.

Past Work (2005-2012)

Partnered with International Researchers on Barbuda

Coordinated scientific investigation of human-landscape-seascape-climate interactions by scholars from CUNY, the Caribbean, Canada, the UK, Iceland and France

Community and teacher exchanges between the United States, Barbuda, Iceland and Orkney

Human Ecodynamics

Caribbean Connections
A multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed, academic online publication. The journal is committed to an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the history of the Caribbean and its peoples and therefore invites submissions from a variety of disciplines. More info

The North Atlantic Biocultural Organization (NABO) was founded over 20 years ago to attempt to cross-cut national and disciplinary boundaries and to help North Atlantic scholars make the most of the immense research potential of our damp and lovely research area.

The Global Human Ecodynamics Alliance (GHEA) is an organization of social scientists, natural scientists, historians, educators, students policy makers, and others interested in promoting cutting-edge research, education, and application of the socioecological dynamics of coupled human and natural systems across scales of space and time.